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BEHIND THE ECLIPSE: Season 2, Week 1

Welcome back for the second season of BEHIND THE ECLIPSE, CBR’s weekly Q&A series with “Heroes” writers/producers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite where you, the viewer, can have direct contact with those shaping the future of the show. Confused about something that happened? Want to know more about a specific character? Joe and Aron are here for you. Drop an e-mail to Jonah Weiland with the subject line “Heroes Question” and we’ll consider it for inclusion in a future installment. Remember to get your questions in by 5:00 PM Pacific on Thursday to improve the chances of your question being included the following week.

In the first episode of the second season, “Four Months Later,” we see Nathan’s let himself go; Suresh hit the lecture circuit; Parkman’s got a new job; Mr. Nakamura falls; Maya’s on the run; Peter shows up unexpectedly; Hiro’s lost in time and his true life hero surprises him; Mr. Bennet takes a new job; and even Mr. Muggles makes an appearance!

There was a lot to take in and you guys had lots of questions. Joe and Aron have tackled them and will hopefully have prepared you for what’s to come in the coming weeks, as well as tonight at 9:00 PM on NBC when we get the second episode of the season, “Lizards.” Here’s the network description.

AS MATT INVESIGATES THE DEATH OF ONE HERO, ANOTHER IS ATTACKED BY THIS NEW SINISTER FORCE STALKING THOSE WITH ABILITIES — THE HAITIAN RETURNS — DIRECTED BY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALLAN ARKUSH — With one person dead, Matt (Greg Grunberg) enlists some unlikely help as the attacks continue on people with abilities. Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) efforts to hide her healing abilities at her new California high school are jeopardized by a fellow student with a secret of his own. As part of his new job, Dr. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) must track down The Haitian (guest star Jimmy Jean-Louis). While crossing into Mexico, Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro’s (Shalim Ortiz) abilities prove to be a threat to those around them. Meanwhile, disappointed by his hero Kensei (David Anders), Hiro (Masi Oka) resolves to rectify any damage his presence in feudal Japan has done to history. And another lost Hero falls in with a gang of Irish gangsters with clues to his past. Jack Coleman, Dana Davis, James Kyson Lee , Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto, Milo Ventimiglia also star. Nick D’Agosto, Katie Carr, Ashley Crow, Cristine Rose, Barry Shabaka Henley, Dominic Keating, Holt McCallany, Eriko Tamura, Adair Tishler and Stephen Tobolowsky guest star.

Joe and Aron, thanks for joining us once again for a new season’s worth of BEHIND THE ECLIPSE. Welcome back! We start off Season 2 with the very first question sent in. Son Gohan asks quite simply, “Zombie Nathan was cool. What’s up with that exactly?” What’s up with that is right – will you guys be exploring more of that quick reveal of the gruesomely scarred Nathan soon?

We’ll absolutely be exploring more of Nathan’s “monster face” than that quick reveal. That was just a tease. Soon you’ll see more, and soon after that, as we like to do on the show, you’ll know everything.

Everything? We know how you guys operate – answer one question, give us 9 more!

Now, we got a couple of people writing in with this question, but Jason Aiken was the first to ask. He writes, “Great way to start the season! Last year you guys said that the Haitian was up to something when ‘How To Stop An Exploding Man’ was going down. Seeing as how Peter returned with the Haitian’s necklace and a case of amnesia, can we assume the two events are connected?”

Glad you liked the premiere Jason – but we can’t assume anything on this show – but amnesia plus the Haitian’s necklace – it’s got to make you think, doesn’t it?

It made a lot of folks think, based on the feedback we got. Mark Bickford writes to ask, “Last season, Jessica hinted in a few scenes that there was more to her and Niki’s situation than Multiple Personality Disorder. My question for you guys is, is/was there more to it than MPD with Jessica having access to the super-strength power, and if so, will we be finding out more about her / them down the road?”

We will be exploring this question in particular in our first pod of episodes. Our goal is to fully understand what’s going on here.

Matt from Massachusetts has two questions for you guys. “Is it me, or did the elder Nakamura’s killer give off a female vibe? The gloves, the oversized jacket, but a very athletic attack and quick movement (could be a power) set off a few red flags and I think the legs looked a little thin compared to the outfit.

So it could be a woman, or a man, huh? Well, that about doubles the suspects. Wish we thought of that when we were shooting the scene. Oh wait, we did.

“Also, in Season 1, there was blood on Sylar’s apartment wall that said, ‘Forgive me, Father, I have sinned.’ Was this Sylar’s Christian background — thanks to his mother– acting out or was this a plea to his father, whom he seems to idolize based on his actions with the clock at his mom’s apartment? Will this get more attention?”

It will get more attention – but not anytime soon.

Peter Dawson wants to know something about his namesake’s powers. “What was that blue light blast thing Peter used? Some new power he got during the four months off or just recently, or one he stole from someone without realizing it?”

You forgot C: all of the above. This is “Heroes,” Pete.

Daniel Cerranza was intrigued by Nathan’s grotesque reflection, which leads him to ask, “Is there more to Nathan than meets the eye? Does he have more than one power?” I don’t think he’s suggesting Nathan is a Transformer, although if he were we’d guess he could transform into a Porsche.

As we noted Son Gohan up above, we haven’t seen the last of “monster face.” But so far as we know, he flies and that’s it.

Gabriel Neeb comes in with the “Chicken & The Egg” question of the week that could actually be of some interest. “Who gave birth to Micah – was is Jessica or Niki?”

Niki.

Hope that helps with your sleuthing, Gabriel. Jamie Iracleanos watched our CBR Boat Show interview and asks, “From your CBR boat show interview, you guys say that you’re big comic book fans. Do you purposefully try to give the show pacing and tone often commonplace in comic book storytelling, such as ending on a big reveal, doing an episode set five years in the future ala ‘Days of Future Past,’ an ‘Origins’ spin-off, or nontraditional camera angles which look very much like comic book panels?”

To oversimplify, Jamie, we just try to make episodes and seasons of television that we would be excited to watch; a little feature film every week. It’s kind of the only thing we truly do “purposefully.”

Jamie continues, “Also, with someone like Jeph Loeb on your staff, a staple in the world of comics, do you guys feel a certain responsibility to help bring comics more into the mainstream by successfully translating a comic book / adventure story for television and doing things such as including comics (‘9th Wonders’) in a serious way?”

We love comics – they have entertained us since we were wee lads – especially Jeph’s work – and they have no doubt influenced us as storytellers. But at the end of the day, we only feel a responsibility to give people at least one kick-ass hour of fun, adventure, and hope every week. We work pretty hard, and we know a lot of people do – all we aim for is to help them escape, or smile, or hang on the edge of their seats.

Joshua’s a new reader of BEHIND THE ECLIPSE and asks, “I was just wondering about the man who came and met with Mohinder. Is Bob (I believe that was his name) one of the 12 that Kaito mentioned when he was talking about the founders? Also, I was wondering about his powers. Can he turn metals in to more than just Gold, or shall we be nicknaming him ‘Midas’ for the rest of the season?”

We’ll be learning about Bob’s connection to everyone soon enough. And keep your eye out for some more alchemy than just gold.

Marti Sichel wants to know about our dear friend Mr. Nakamura. “The OWI was founded by a group of 12. Is 12 going to be the magic number for this season or will we be following the number 9 theme still? Also, 5 of the 12 have been unmasked, so to speak, but will we learn more about the other 7 before this pod’s conclusion? More importantly, will we find out what the awesome Kaito Nakamura’s power might be? Could he be the swordsmith with super longevity (barring major injury and being thrown off a building)? What kind of legacy does he have to pass on? Will we get to see how his and Ando’s relationship formed beyond the hint that was given in the graphic novel?”

Nine is still the number.

Yes, we will.

Absolutely, but not for a while.

Nope.

What kind of legacy do any of us have to pass on?

We don’t have plans to.

The singularly named Christopher asks, ” Last season we got several hints that Peter and Hiro were best friends in the future, but Hiro and Peter from the present have so far only had one scene together. Any chance these two will have some more scenes together this season?”

Every chance. But right now they are 400 years apart. But we promise that the two will be in some pretty amazing scenes together soon. Any more information might spoil the season… so basically, “trust us.”

Dave Rich writes in with some questions based on repeat viewings of the “Heroes” Season 1 DVD set (and apparently this has set off some discussion on “Heroes” fansites.) ” In ‘Landslide,’ Niki and D.L. phase through Linderman’s wall.The closed captioning and the DVD subtitles claim she calls him ‘Bill,’ but I’m pretty sure she just says ‘boo!’ in Ali Larter’s best sex-kitten voice.And then in the Kensei documentary on Yamagatofellowship makes a point of calling him Daniel Linderman.Just to put an end to all the kerfuffle – is it Bill, Daniel, or (my best guess) Sue?”

We think the closed captioning people missed that one, Dave Rich. A simple misunderstanding – like if Tarzan thought y our name was in fact a statement of your financial situation. Linderman’s name is, in fact, Daniel. Consider kerfuffle concluded.

Mystery solved! Okay, after just one episode, Neal Pearson’s already playing detective, trying to figure out mysteries before they’ve even fully presented themselves! That said, we liked his line of thinking, so we’re throwing it at you guys.

“At the end of ‘Four Months Later’ we saw Peter looking very confused. We also met a young dark haired character, looking vaguely like Peter, who can fly. I suspect there is more to West than just being able to fly. My theory is that Peter survived going supernova by somehow fragmenting his powers and personality into ‘clones’ and that West is in fact a part of Peter. Peter won’t be himself again until he gets them all back (in a Madrox style). As he was presumably high in the atmosphere, ‘bits of Peter’ could have fallen all over the world. Granted, that would make West hitting on Peter’s niece freaky, but it could be a cool way to throw Peter’s character in a new direction and see the ‘Heroes’ world. Yeah, far too early to be taking such big leaps in logic, but should I be keeping a close eye out for new characters with powers we have seen before in future episodes?” We like that “bits of Peter” – how gross!

Wow. Neal just wrote season seven for us. All kidding aside, that explanation does not apply. To this season.

Sorry, Neal. Good try, though. Thanks to everyone who participated in our first edition of BEHIND THE ECLIPSE for Season 2 of “Heroes.” If you’d like to participate in next week’s Q&A, drop an e-mail to Jonah Weiland with the subject line “Heroes Question” and we’ll consider it for inclusion in a future installment. Remember to get your questions in by 5:00 PM Pacific on Thursday to improve the chances of your question being included the following week.

Okay, now it’s our turn to grill you guys! In “Four Months Later,” you guys touched on almost every single member of the cast – save Niki/Micah/DL – but I think without a doubt the cast member we were most happy to see survive the epic battle in Kirby Plaza was Mr. Muggles. Nice to know our furry friend is safe and sound.

Muggles is apparently part cockroach.

Don’t you talk bad about Mr. Muggles! We’ve heard about various book publishing deals tied into “Heroes.” There’s the online comics collection coming from DC Comics. “Heroes: Saving Charlie” is coming in December. When might we see “The Massive Misadventures of One Mr. Muggles” announced? Yes, we’re Mr. Muggles obsessed around these parts.

Somewhere down the road, we plan to create a bunch of animated shorts. Keep those letters coming in and we’ll see what we can do to get Muggles top billing on one.

Uh-oh, that sounds like a challenge to begin a Mr. Muggles campaign! It was great to see Stephen Tobolowsky in “Heroes.” He’s an incredible character actor and, actually, just played a comic shop owner in the NBC series “Raines,” so his comic connections continue. What more can you tell us about him? Is he just a low level man in the company or is he a man of some importance? How big a role will he have in Season 2?

His name is Bob. He’s pretty high up in the company. What’s a good word for “very important?” Paramount? Crucial?

Okay, we’ll keep a close eye on Bob. Also, is/was he part of the older group that Linderman, Mrs. Petrelli, and Daddy Nakamura were part of? Or is he with a new group altogether?

Same group. When you see the photo that Kaito’s death card was taken from, you’ll see Bob’s pretty face as part of it.

Interesting! The plot thickens! Now, what can you tell us about the virus that’s affecting people with powers? Will we be learning whether it’s man made or a natural phenomenon soon?

Nothing yet and soon enough.

Moving on to Parkman — so, he’s divorced? He looked pretty happy the last time we saw him with his wife. How soon will we learn what happened between them? And what about his child? He doesn’t seem like the kind to abandon his baby (hence, he is taking care of Molly). And will we learn what happened to the diamonds he stole?

Divorced.

He did – but they certainly had their issues, didn’t they.

Episode 5 – “Fight or flight.”

Ibid.

Ibid.

What diamonds? (insert knowing look here)

Is the virus Mohinder is talking about a feint just to draw the “bad guys” in? Or is there a real virus that the Heroes need to be worried about? And are the “bad guys” still the “Paper Company?”

The virus is real. The heroes should be worried, all of the heroes. And the “Paper company?” Let’s just say it’s a small subsidiary of the “bad guys.” And maybe, just maybe they’re not bad….

Is the “Paper Company” actually gone now that Mr. Linderman is dead? Noah (we like not having to call him Mr. Bennet) tells his daughter that they have to hide from them, yet Parkman, Mohinder, and Molly seem to be walking around without having to hide their identities?

You’ll get the power dynamic the first few episodes in – and everything will make sense . All we can say is you haven’t seen the last of the word “Primatech.”

Good to know! Now, if Parkman is living in Mohinder’s apartment, can we assume he is working with Mohinder and Noah to take down this evil group?

Assume nothing. All you can bank on is that they both care very much for young Molly.

Hiro’s father says “There are nine” – was he referring to the group the parents were all part of? Are “the nine” still alive? And we always assumed Mr. Nakamura had powers, but he seemed awfully easy to kill. Were we mistaken?

Mr. Nakamura had powers, but easy to kill? Maybe you didn’t look at the crime scene hard enough.

Claire’s new classmate West can fly. This brings up an interesting question about the heroes – can two different people have identical powers? And going back to Neal’s theory above, does this necessarily indicate a genetic link? Are Claire and the classmate going to end up being the Luke and Leia of “Heroes?”

First off, Ew. And no, similar powers do not mean a genetic link. We’ve seen that the existence of powers may be something passed on, but the powers themselves are a crapshoot of sorts. For example, phase-man + strength-girl = talks to machines. We hit a crossroads as we stared populating our universe with more characters. To duplicate powers or not to duplicate powers. The thing we loved about duplication of powers was that it spoke to character more purely. If Claire can regenerate – does that define her character – or does it come from her heart? The best way to explore that is to find someone else who can regenerate. (So, keep an eye out for that person.)

The scenes in which Maya and her brother were speaking Spanish, the subtitles were yellow instead of white. What was the reasoning behind changing colors instead of the standard subtitle white?

We wanted a different look for the different stories. Hiro and Ando had white captions that jumped around like comic captions. We wanted the look and feel of Maya and Alejandro to be similar to that of a Spanish film.

In the opening introduction montage, while Suresh is talking about how “they” are among us we get our first glimpses of Maya and her brother but we also see a black woman. What can you tell us about the character and her powers?

We can tell you to keep watching. She shows up soon enough.

Dana Davis as Monica Dawson with Noah Gray-Cabey as Micah and Nichelle Nichols as Nana Dawson

During the same montage we also see an armored Kensei in a very Hiro-esque pose with hands on hips – is this a hint that Hiro will become his own hero as he goes on his heroic journey?

Gosh, you guys want to know everything, don’t you?

We’re not a patient bunch.

Thanks again, Joe and Aron. Remember, if you’d like to participate in next week’s Q&A, it’s easy! Simply drop an e-mail to Jonah Weiland with the subject line “Heroes Question” and we’ll consider it for inclusion in a future installment. Remember to get your questions in by 5:00 PM Pacific on Thursday to improve the chances of your question being included the following week.